Greener Motoring

Local and National Policymakers, National Transport Authority, Car Industry

NUIG Park and Ride system

As well as rethinking the role of cars in the city so that cars don’t dominate, we also need measures to make motoring greener such as:
– Year-round park and ride at the main entry points into the city. Commuters from outside the city could drive to a park and ride centre and take a bus for the remainder of their journey as happens in Galway in the run up to Christmas.
– Reduced car-parking fees for EVs (electric vehicles) and low-emission cars.
– Multi-storey car parks instead of surface car parks to minimise land use. Some multi-storey car parks could be incorporated into new mixed-use development.
– Encourage carpooling. A dedicated national website (www.carsharing.ie) has been set up to bring drivers and passengers together.
– Promote car sharing. Car clubs allow people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. They are attractive to people who make only occasional use of a vehicle. The organisation renting the cars may be a commercial business or the users may be organized as a company, public agency, cooperative, or informal grouping.
– Allow cars use bus lanes if there are 4 or more passengers in the car. This would encourage carpooling. Adequate monitoring would need to occur to deter abuse.